Best Magic Items for Rogues

There’s no telling what situation the DM might create, but at the end of long, hard quests players can often expect a satisfying payoff. Magical items aren’t just for spellcasting classes, like Wizards, Bards, or Clerics. Other classes also need guidance when it comes to magical items, one specific example being the Rogue.

Rogues are best suited to utility items such as carving tools and decks of cards because of their high Dexterity score. Accessories or things that work to enhance their natural skills about stealth, awareness, and combat style. There are plenty of items of “uncommon” and “rare” quality in Dungeons & Dragons that any level Rogue character can use.

Updated on September 1st, 2024, by Kristy Ambrose: In early D&D history, this class was known as a Thief. Today, Rogues are still one of the most popular classes in D&D, along with virtually every other RPG in the world. Years of development and innovation have come from a combination of vintage gaming materials and contemporary changes. Role-players and homebrewers alike have also had fun with this highly customizable class, which can be anything from a spy to a carpet-bagger.

Jewelry

Rings, necklaces, bracelets, pins, earrings, cufflinks, and more, depending on the adventure and the type of DM.

Amulet Of Health

• Source: D&D 5e Compendium
• Item Rarity: Rare
• Modifiers: Raises the Constitution stat to 19.

This amulet sets the wearer’s Constitution score to 19 for as long as they’re attuned but does not affect a character that already has a Constitution of at least 19. This necklace would be useless to a Barbarian or Cleric, but it’s one of the best magic items for Rogues in 5e.

In a Rogue’s world, Dexterity is often the main focus, meaning their Constitution is often low. This amulet is a great supplement to their hit-point score and their ability to make a successful Constitution saving throw. It’s an advantageous combination for what’s usually a squishy class.

Ring Of Mind Shielding

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
• Item Rarity: Uncommon
• Modifiers: Immune to certain spells that affect the mind and a “soul storage” option.

This ring grants several abilities that are useful to virtually every class, but the advantages it grants when it comes to stealth make it feel like something a Rogue would use. Its primary ability shields the wearer from any magical spell or skill that allows other characters to read their thoughts, discover their alignment, or know what type of creature they are.

The ring can also be rendered invisible, so nobody knows the character is wearing it. The last and most interesting power this ring has is its soul-storing option. It can be used to store a soul, and if the Rogue dies while they’re wearing it, it stores their soul, but it can only store one soul at a time.

If the ring is already housing a soul when the Rogue dies, they’re out of luck. If the Rogue’s soul is stored in the ring, they can communicate with the wearer telepathically and can move on to the next world at any time they want.

Ring Of Evasion

• Source: Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount
• Item Rarity: Rare
• Modifiers: Use a Reaction to turn a failed Dexterity save into a successful one.

Another quintessential Rogue item, the Ring of Evasion makes this class even harder to hit. Rogues can spend one of the ring’s charges to succeed a Dexterity saving throw that they had previously failed, further enhancing their already possessed Evasion ability.

It was last seen in the Marble Tomes Conservatory in Rosohna. Any party exploring the rougher parts of Wildemount might happen upon it.

Trinkets And Accessories

The Rogue class is infamous for the accessories they carry. Thieves Kits, Poison Vials, and other magical items unique to or well-suited for the class.

The Immovable Rod

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook
• Item Rarity: Uncommon
• Modifiers: Can hold up to 8000 pounds of weight, can only be moved with a Strength check of 30 until deactivated.

It’s more of a camping or travel item than a combat accessory, but The Immoveable Rod might have some situational uses in battle. When the Rogue uses an Action to press the button on the end, The Immovable Rod becomes fixed in place, and it can be placed anywhere, even in midair.

The rod can support up to 8000 pounds of weight at this point, so other than storage, it can be used to hold up heavy objects like walls or castle gates. Be cautious, however, because any weight above the limit causes the rod to fail. Until the Rogue presses the button again, deactivating the rod, it can only be moved by a character strong enough to pass a 30 Strength check.

The Spies’ Murmur

• Source: Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica
• Item Rarity: Uncommon
• Modifiers: The ability to communicate with other bearers within a radius of one mile.

Something between a piece of jewelry and an accessory, The Spies’ Murmur acquires attunement and is a small piece of dark metal worn around the ear. Even the least creative of players knows that’s a handy skill that applies to a variety of situations and fits well into the skillset of a Rogue.

In addition to its uses in communication, this device can act as a reverse speaker and allow someone to listen to a conversation, music, or some other audible exchange. This ability is important to Rogues, and the name of the device more likely comes from this secondary use.

Dust Of Disappearance

• Source: The Ruins of Undermountain II: The Deep Levels, Out of the Abyss, and Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage adventure modules
• Item Rarity: Uncommon
• Modifiers: Renders all creatures and objects within a 10‑foot radius invisible for several minutes.

One of the advantages of being an Arcane Trickster is being able to cast Invisibility when needed; other roguish archetypes don’t have that going for them, but this dust can certainly help.

Throw the Dust of Disappearance into the air, and everything within 10 feet of the source becomes invisible for 2d4 minutes. It’s not as long-lasting as a spell, but there’s no concentration needed. A Rogue can carry it around as a nice backup for their stealth.

Sending Stones

• Source: Storm King’s Thunder and Tomb of Annihilation adventure modules
• Item Rarity: Uncommon
• Modifiers: Used to cast a sending spell that targets the bearer of its pair.

An Arcane Trickster might not need these at all, but any other rogue will wish they had a pair of Sending Stones. They’re one of the best magical items in 5e for any class, and they fit nicely with the usual toolkit of a Rogue.

Whoever holds one of these stones can use an action to cast the Sending spell and communicate with the bearer of the stone’s counterpart. These are perfect for reporting the findings of a scouting endeavor or calling for help when in a tense D&D role-playing scenario.

Manual Of Quickness Of Action

• Source: Dungeon Master’s Guide
• Item Rarity: Very Rare
• Modifiers: Read over 48 hours in six days to increase your Dexterity skill.

A rogue’s Dexterity score should be maxed out, and the default maximum is 20. If it’s not, the rogue should work on getting there throughout the D&D campaign, either by a feat or ability score improvement when leveling up or by using a magical item.

One thing that a Rogue can do is bust into the Cobalt Vault and grab this handy learning manual. The best part of the Manual of Quickness of Action is that even if the rogue who reads it does have a 20 Dexterity, they’ll still increase their Dex score by 2 upon completion of the book.

Some hats, shoes, gloves, and other pieces of gear are specifically for Rogues, while others can be designed for casters or other melee fighters, but are still useful.

Boots Of Elvenkind

• Source: The Woolmen’s Restless Tomb adventure and the Baldur’s Gate video game franchise
• Item Rarity: Uncommon
• Modifiers: Allows the wearer to walk even more quietly.

Elves are known for their grace and agility, by nothing more than being elves. As one can imagine, grace and agility are two things a rogue should have in plenty since stealth is really their purview in the party.

Boots of Elvenkind ensure that the wearer’s steps are completely silent regardless of the surface they’re walking across, and grant an advantage to stealth checks that rely on moving silently. Best of all, they’re an “uncommon” item, so they shouldn’t be too hard to find.

Cape Of The Mountebank

• Source: Critical Role: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting
• Item Rarity: Rare
• Modifiers: Wearers can use it to cast the Dimension Door spell as an action.

This item is part of the inventory in Gilmore’s Glorious Goods. The Cape of the Mountebank is a rare cape that smells faintly of brimstone and allows the wearer to cast Dimension Door as an action. It creates a puff of smoke whenever used, but even then it’s still an invaluable item for a rogue.

Unless the party’s scout has a dextrous arcane spellcaster to accompany them on scouting missions, a cape such as this might very well be a lifesaver.

Cloak Of Displacement

• Source: Baldur’s Gate video game franchise
• Item Rarity: Rare
• Modifiers: Causes the wearer to appear as if they were in a slightly different location up to a few inches away.

The Cloak of Displacement is probably one of the best magical items in 5e a Rogue could have. It’s rare, so not quite as easy to find as other items, but worth the gold or the search.

While wearing the cloak, an illusion of the character is projected to confuse enemies, giving them a disadvantage on all attack rolls. Rogues work best when they can zip between enemies, dealing massive sneak attack damage and taking as little of it themselves as possible; this cloak makes this more possible.

Goggles Of The Night

• Source: Dungeon Master’s Guide
• Item Rarity: Uncommon
• Modifiers: Gives the wearer Darkvision up to a range of 60 feet.

If the Rogue already has Darkvision, then these goggles are unnecessary but handy, since Darkvision of 60 feet will become 120 feet with them on. However, a Rogue without natural Darkvision will treasure these, gaining a 60-foot span of Darkvision while wearing the goggles, so they can see the world in any light.

Since carrying a torch kind of invalidates sneaking around in the first place, a Rogue who needs some visual supplements will want these at hand. The character of Beauregard Lionett in Critical Role is currently in possession of a pair.

Cloak Of Arachnida

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook 5th Edition
• Item Rarity: Common
• Modifiers: The wearer is immune to getting caught in any web, can climb as fast as they walk, and can resist Poison damage.

Extra abilities like climbing and resisting or detecting traps are something a Rogue is good at anyway, and this cloak gives them some creative ways to add to those unique skills. Not only does it keep the Rogue from getting trapped in webbing, but they can also move through it with the same penalties as if it were difficult terrain.

Another boon for Rogues who add some spellcasting to their repertoire, equipping the Cloak of Arachnida also enables a Rogue one cast of the Web Spell per day. This requires an Action and a roll of a d12, similar to a conventional spell. It’s a great magical item for most classes in 5e but is best for a Rogue.

Armor

Light armor or clothing is the signature armor for a Rogue, but with all the customization options for Rogues these days, it’s a guideline as opposed to a rule.

The Gloves Of Thievery

• Source: Dungeon Master’s Guide
• Item Rarity: Uncommon
• Modifiers: Gives the wearer a +5 to Dexterity.

The Dexterity bonus that these gloves grant also applies to the Sleight of Hand ability and the Pick Lock skill. Put all of these great advantages together, and the Gloves of Thievery is one of the best items for Rogues in 5e.

Another interesting trait these gloves have is that they’re invisible, so they can also be used in a situation that requires the player to hide something small or be more discreet about how much armor they have, or its quality.

Bracer Of Flying Daggers

• Source: Waterdeep – Dragon Heist
• Item Rarity: Rare
• Modifiers: Generates two magical daggers that the player can use as thrown weapons.

A single bracelet as opposed to a pair of bracers, this handy item is decorated with small daggers in case the character forgets what they’re wearing. The character can use an extra action to conjure two magical daggers from this bracer that can be thrown at an enemy, and they can deal 1d4 or 1d6 damage depending on the DM’s discretion.

Unlike other magical items that have limited charges or need an overnight rest to recharge, the Bracer of Flying Daggers is always fully functional. However, the daggers it conjures only last a short time and disappear unless you use them immediately.

Glamoured Studded Leather

• Source: Dungeon Master’s Guide
• Item Rarity: Rare
• Modifiers: +1 bonus to AC, plus the wearer can use a Bonus Action to disguise this armor as normal clothing.

Anyone playing a Rogue probably has some kind of leather armor equipped; anything heavier pretty much makes that high Stealth skill redundant. Here’s a suit of leather armor with a bonus effect rogues, in particular, should appreciate.

Along with a +1 bonus to AC, on a bonus action, the wearer can speak this armor’s command word and it assumes the appearance of any type of armor or regular clothing. Glamoured Studded Leather is great for Rogues that rely on Stealth or the power of disguise to get the job done.

Boots Of Speed

• Source: Dungeon Master’s Guide
• Item Rarity: Very Rare
• Modifiers: Use a Bonus Action and click the boots’ heels together. The boots double the wearer’s walking speed, and any creature that makes an opportunity attack against the wearer has a disadvantage on the attack roll.

A Rogue who gets their hands on a pair of these boots will be near-uncatchable on the battlefield. The boots double the wearer’s walking speed, give a disadvantage to enemies found in the Monster Manual who try an Attack of Opportunity, and grant 10 minutes of speed per long rest.

That should be plenty to get any DM started on outfitting their rogue with some epic loot. Now all that’s left is to make sure the party divides their spoils somewhat equally — and that the rogue gets any items intended for them.

Weapons

The exact weapons that a Rogue can use depend on the Feats they choose, but the common ones tend to be daggers, shortswords, short bows, and hand crossbows.

Nine Lives Stealer

• Source: D&D Player’s Handbook 5th Edition
• Item Rarity: Very Rare
• Modifiers: +2 to attacks, 1d8+1 charges, targets must pass a Constitution saving throw or die instantly.

There are a few weapons and abilities that a Rogue can use for “insta-kills” and this is one of them, alongside the usual skills like Backstab and Attacks of Opportunity. Constructs and undead creatures are immune, and the weapon has a limited number of charges for this skill as determined by the DM.

It’s often depicted as a shortsword in official D&D artwork, but the other great thing about the Nine Lives Stealer is that it can take a variety of forms and none of them are the usual dart or dagger. It can be a greatsword, longsword, rapier, or scimitar.

Dagger Of Warning

• Source: Dungeon Master’s Guide
• Item Rarity: Uncommon
• Modifiers: Gives an advantage on Initiative rolls.

Most Rogues shouldn’t need help with their perception, but this dagger helps both the Rogue and everyone around them. While attuned, the Rogue can’t be surprised and are magically awoken from their sleep when danger approaches along with all allies within 30 feet of them.

The initiative is a great advantage to characters that rely on melee strikes, making this one of the best magical items for a Rogue in 5e. Not to mention the Dagger of Warning gives the rogue Advantage on initiative rolls, which is a valuable thing for them to have.